From the Assistant Principal - Wellbeing and Learning
Year 7-10 Student Learning Conference
The Student Learning Conference for the Semester 1 Year 7-10 courses will be held on Wednesday 3rd July (3pm-7.45pm) and Thursday 4th July (12.30pm-4.00pm) The event will be held in the Junior Campus Hall. Families can book either event through Compass.
Year 7-10 will be dismissed at 11.45am on Thursday 4th July and Year 11 and 12 will have normal classes that afternoon. If a teacher is teaching Year 11 or 12 that day they will be unavailable for interviews until 3pm.
Friday 5th July is a Pupil Free Day for Staff Professional Learning.
Unity Day 2024
On Friday 28th June is the Annual College Unity Day. This is that day that students get to celebrate their cultural heritage with the rest of the community.
Students can dress in their cultural outfits and be part of the fashion parade. All other students are to wear their sports uniform.
There will be a liturgy spoken in different languages, a smoking ceremony, cultural activities and a showcase of songs and dance from different cultures.
Hands off policy
St Andrews College has a strict hands-off policy. This policy and expectations is about respecting each other’s personal space. “We were just mucking around” is not an excuse to touch another student. We do not touch anyone, for any reason, be it in anger, affection or mucking around.
Breaching the hand off policy could result in an external suspension so be careful about touching others.
Uniform
All students should be in full winter uniform every day. As it gets colder students start to wear extra clothing. I suggest that thermal clothing that goes under the uniform be used. If a student wears non-St Andrews clothing they will be asked to remove it. If they wish to wear gloves or a scarf they must be navy or black.
All students are expected to have a College bag at school and to have it every day. Sports uniforms on a Thursday must be complete or they are to wear their winter uniform. No non-St Andrews track pants and leggings are to be worn to school.
If your child cannot wear a part of the uniform please notify the College either by phone or a written note. Students that come in the wrong uniform may be asked to do a detention, stay in the office or asked to go home to rectify their uniform.
Attendance
All students need to be mindful of how many days each they are absent. We understand that sometimes sickness and family issues affect attendance but sometimes we are ok to come to school but we stay at home.
We aim for students’ attendance to be 90% but a lot of students have dropped below that level. Every day a student is absent they are missing vital learning, and this could have a negative effect on their future.
Every absence or lateness must be justified. All absences must be for legitimate reasons. Please do not leave any absence or lateness without a reason. Continue to notify the office and if your child is sick please and respond to the notification either via the compass app.
If you need assistance with getting your child back into a normal attendance and school routine please contact the Leader of Wellbeing for your child year. If you would like to know your attendance level please contact your Leader of Wellbeing.
What’s in the Planner?
The key strengths to focus on are Optimism and hope. Being optimistic and hopeful helps you overcome challenges and give you a sense of purpose.
Negative thinkers have a fixed mindset; they always look for what is wrong and what they cannot do. People with a fixed mindset believe that they cannot get better at a task or make any improvement. The classic example is a person saying that they are no good at maths so they don’t try.
You need to have a growth mindset and believe that with hard work and help you can be good at whatever you do. If you work hard you can turn any situation around. Instead of saying, “I cannot do algebra” you say “I cannot do algebra –YET”
Using assertive language when dealing with situations is a great skill for the future. Say what concerns you, how you feel about it and what you would like to happen. Try not to be aggressive or too timid and never use SMS texts or emails to avoid personal contact.
Being organised is essential in life and in work. Planning is an important part of being organised. At school, planning your work such as assessments will enable you to perform better. Everyone organises themselves in different ways. It is important to try different ways of organising to see which one works best for you.
Just a reminder that we should be exercising and eating healthy food if we want to flourish. Poor food choices and lack of exercise can have a negative impact on our wellbeing.
Have you done the strengths survey yet? Go to http://www.viacharacter.org and fill in the survey to identify your strengths. To get bonus house points come and tell me your top 3 strengths.
Top character strengths to focus on is teamwork and curiosity.
God Bless
Mr. Nick Thrum
Assistant Principal